NFL Player Defends Faith & Family: Outrage Commences

When Harrison Butker gave a commencement speech at a private Catholic college, it caused outrage. His claim to fame is as an athlete in a sport known for unsavory individuals (the NFL), especially domestic violence perpetrators. Thus, coming from that background, the level of national hysteria might seem disproportionate (not to mention, ill-placed). After all, his speech was not just coherent, which is rare for professional athletes, but articulate. In it, he expressed a deep love of his family and especially his wife. He talked about faith, values, and the family unit.

Harrison is a public Catholic, and his entire family cares deeply about their Faith. Here’s the real problem: we don’t live in a culture that is tolerant of the lived Faith, only one that is tolerant of what they think the Faith is, or ought to be. They’re okay with the Faith as long as its entirety is the most misquoted passage in the New Testament (Matthew 7:1-3, “Judge not, lest ye be judged”). But when the Faith goes deeper than that, when it informs the way people live, gives them the courage to speak about what matters most and condemn common behaviors (like abortion, contraception, and vapid individualism)—then it’s a problem.

This is reminiscent of the FBI’s treatment of “rad trads” in which leaked documents showed that the agency didn’t have a problem with “normal Catholics”, as they understood them, but with Catholics who oppose gay marriage, oppose homosexual displays, consider prayer and the rosary as weapons (in other words, as effective), and prefer the Traditional Latin Mass. But such things are all part of our Faith. These elements of the Faith cited by Butker, once uncontroversial (at least among believers), are vehemently repudiated by the secular world.

It’s a Faith that others find startling, and perhaps they should. It ought to sound extraordinary when placed against the backdrop of the modern world. We should be ashamed that so few know that—a problem worsened by mainstream self-professed Catholics like Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi.

Some excerpts from his speech should allow us to hone in on the parts that were objected to the loudest:

“Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

I think the very idea that marriage is a vocation is so contrary to the modern redefinition of marriage. The vocational dimension alone speaks to its permanence, of its high calling. It’s not a contract that might be dissolved at a later date, when it’s inconvenient or the two parties get past their lust.

Some have argued that this wasn’t the best context for a talk about marriage, child-rearing, and stay-at-home mothers, but if it’s not, then when would be such a time? He's addressing young adult Catholics at a Catholic school, as they arrive at a milestone (and likely major intersection) of their lives. This was not just a moment when they were graduating from college, but more broadly, a moment when they will make major decisions about the lives they will live.

“I’m beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”

I agree with the criticism that it would have been better if he had used the term “mother” rather than “homemaker”, but within the greater context of Harrison’s words, it was evident that motherhood was intrinsic to the argument he was making. He wasn’t saying that his wife’s value is in doing the dishes—but that her willingness to do the tasks that are needed in the home, for their children and their partnership, allowed them all to live happier, holier lives than if they were outsourcing to daycare and struggling to manage competing schedules, as so many have to do.

There is a nobility in making that choice, which has been so smeared in the popular consensus, and it both deserves and needs defense. The idea that it is somehow shameful for a woman to dedicate herself to her family in that way, and that her only value is what she can offer to the world through a career is morally repugnant. That notion is, however, all too commonly echoed.

“I say all of this to you because I have seen it firsthand how much happier someone can be when they disregard the outside noise and move closer and closer to God’s will in their life.”

This is greatly understated and I think even unknown by many who didn’t come from intact families—which is a demographic that grows every decade. At a time when broken homes are the norm, it can be helpful and even imperative to have someone say what those who came from two-parent, faithful families often consider to be self-evident: That there is happiness that comes from the stability and love that exists in a home that is properly ordered. Harrison and his wife have that, and it’s not wrong for him to want to share that with others.

Harrison’s speech is also reflective of how young people in the Church are leaning into traditionalism. It’s not the “youth-focused liturgies” that are attended by those still pining for the “good ole days” of the 1960s with tambourines and dancing, promoted only by an aging generation that didn’t seem to understand the beauty of tradition. It’s the strength, authority, and constancy of a Faith that has been ongoing for 2000 years. Spend any time reading Church Fathers like St. Clement and St. Ignatius of Antioch, and be moved by how the writings of those in the 1st Century describe the theological truths we still defend and hold today.

Too often, local churches try to conform to what they think certain groups want, instead of providing what all groups need. Young people aren’t seeking entertainment from their worship. They seek what we all yearn for—a refuge from the evils around us, a sense of direction, community, and the One who is Christ. What Harrison spoke was Truth, which is jarring to the ears of those who aren’t used to hearing it —but which is the antidote to the empire of lies that surrounds us. May we speak it often enough that they know of the salvation that is available.